A conventional side-release buckle assembly includes a male connection member that is configured to mate with a female connection member, such as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,472, entitled “Buckle.” Each connection member is configured to retain a strap, such as a seatbelt or backpack strap. The male connection member includes integral buttons that may be engaged to release the male connection member from the female connection member, thereby disconnecting the buckle assembly.
FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a disconnected conventional buckle assembly 10. The buckle assembly 10 includes a male connection member 12 and a female connection member 14. The male connection member 12 includes a pair of flexible lateral arms 16 having buttons 18 at distal ends 20. A rigid strut member 22 extends between the lateral arms 16. A strap receiving channel 21 is formed through the male connection member 12 between the rigid strut member 22 and a strap bar 23, which is configured to clamp into a strap. The lateral arms 16 are configured to pivot in the direction of arcs A and A′ about pivot points 24 defined by the union of the rigid strut member 22 and the lateral arms 16. In general, the rigid strut member 22 is disposed between the pivot points 24 and the strap-receiving channel 21. As such, the pivot points 24 are distally located from the strap bar 23. As shown in FIG. 1, the rigid strut member 22 extends between the arms 16 and is integrally connected to a main body 25 of the male connection member 12. Thus, the rigid strut member 22 is inflexible.
In order to secure the male connection member 12 into the female connection member 14, the male connection member 12 is urged into the female connection member 14 in the direction of arrow B. A guide beam 26 of the male connection member 12 moves into a reciprocal channel (not shown) formed in the female connection member 14 to ensure proper mating alignment between the male and female connection members 12 and 14, respectively. As the male connection member 12 is urged into the female connection member 14, the lateral arms 16 deflect inwardly in the directions of arcs A and A′ until the buttons 18 reach button openings 28 formed through the female connection member 14. When the buttons 18 enter the button openings 28, the tension stored in the lateral arms 16 snapably forces the lateral arms 16 and the buttons laterally outward, so that the buttons 18 are secured within the button openings 28. At this point, the male connection member 12 is secured to the female connection member 14.
FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the conventional buckle assembly 10 in which the male connection member 12 is securely mated into the female connection member 14. In order to disconnect the male connection member 12 from the female connection member 14, the buttons 18 are squeezed toward one another in the direction of arcs A and A′.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in general, the longer the lateral arms 16 are, the easier it is for a user to push the buttons 18 inward. Because of the configuration of the rigid strut member 22 and associated pivot points 24, however, the size of the arms 16 and buttons 18 is limited. Further, if the arms 16 are too large, the arms 16 are not easily deflected due to the force exerted into the arms 16 by the rigid strut member 22.
Moreover, the button openings 28 formed in the female connection member 14 may be too small to allow a user to manipulate the buttons 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the buttons 18 are bound on three sides by fixed, rigid structure of the female connection member 14 that defines the button openings 28. If an operator is wearing gloves, or has oversized fingers, the fixed structural support walls of the female connection member 14 that define the button openings 28 may interfere with the operator's fingers, thereby impeding further squeezing of the buttons 18. As such, an operator may find it difficult, or impossible, to disconnect the male connection member 12 from the female connection member 14.
As discussed above, the male connection member 12 is urged into the female connection member 14. In snowy conditions, however, some conventional buckle assemblies, such as the buckle assembly 10, may become clogged with snow, rendering connection difficult. That is, snow or other debris may become trapped within the female connection member 14, thereby rendering full and proper mating with the male connection member 12 difficult or impossible.
Additionally, the webbing adjustment areas of the conventional buckle assembly 10 are not always easily accessible because the main bodies of the male and female connection members 12 and 14 may interfere with an operator's fingers and/or the strap/web material during adjustment. Thus, an operator may find it difficult to adjust webbing or straps positioned within the strap receiving channels of the male and female connection members 12 and 14.